Jiang Li sat on the red wedding bed for an entire night.
The peach blossoms outside the window were still in full bloom, but in her eyes, those petals had already turned into withered, rotten leaves. Cang Yaochen was sleeping in the next room, his breathing very shallow.
At dawn, Cang Yaochen pushed the door open and entered. He had put on the bright red groom's robe he had sewn himself; his face looked somewhat greyish against the red fabric, but his eyes were unusually bright.
"Li'er, the auspicious hour has arrived." He walked to the bedside and took Jiang Li's hand.
Jiang Li complied and stood up, not letting him see the sharp bamboo shard hidden in her sleeve.
The courtyard was already bustling. A-Mu was leading those "villagers" in setting up tables and chairs. These people moved mechanically, uttering stiff words of congratulation. Jiang Li looked at them, her heart cold as ice.
Cang Yaochen led her to the incense altar in the center of the courtyard. Wedding candles were placed on the altar, their red flames flickering in the wind.
"First bow to Heaven and Earth—"
A-Mu's voice was so hoarse it was almost inaudible.
Jiang Li followed Cang Yaochen and bowed. At that moment, she saw the stone bricks beneath her feet beginning to melt, revealing the jagged black reef below. The illusion was on the verge of total collapse.
"Second bow to the Ancestors—"
"Husband and wife, bow to each other—"
Cang Yaochen turned around, staring intently at Jiang Li with eyes filled with obsessive longing.
"Li'er, once this bow is done, we will be together for all eternity," he whispered, his voice trembling slightly.
"Senior Brother, this dream has gone on too long. I need to wake up," Jiang Li said softly.
Before Cang Yaochen could react, Jiang Li struck. The bamboo shard in her sleeve sliced deeply across her left wrist.
Blood sprayed instantly, staining the bright red wedding gown.
"Ugh!"
Cang Yaochen staggered back, clutching his own left wrist. Because of the pain-sharing bond, his wrist bled profusely with purple blood. The sudden agony shattered his sea of consciousness, and the already unstable illusion began to shake violently.
"Li'er... stop!" Cang Yaochen reached out to grab her but fell to his knees in agony.
Jiang Li did not stop. Enduring the pain, she made another cut on her arm. She needed to drain Cang Yaochen's remaining divine power. As long as she was injured, he was forced to expend his power to suppress her pain, accelerating the collapse of the illusion.
"Are you mad!" Cang Yaochen roared, the purple light in his eyes clashing wildly.
As Jiang Li's blood dripped onto the ground, the "villagers" standing around froze. Their bodies disintegrated like ash in the wind, turning into blackened peach leaves.
The vast orchard withered in an instant.
The darkness of reality rushed back in—the jagged reefs, the foul seawater, and the wreckage of warships reappeared.
"Cang Yaochen, thank you. Though I never truly knew who you were, I knew you weren't that Monk Cang. Thank you for the beautiful memories you gave me during this time," Jiang Li stood in the center of the ruins, her red wedding dress fluttering in the sea wind. "But I loathe this lie. I loathe the deception and this self-righteous way of being 'good' to me."
Cang Yaochen knelt on the ground, coughing up large amounts of blood. Maintaining such a massive illusion while enduring the backlash of the pain-sharing bond had completely exhausted him.
"Li'er, the world outside..." He still tried to reach out for the hem of her dress.
Just then, thunder rumbled in the distance. The pursuers from the Holy Lands had broken the final barrier of the illusion and were closing in.
"Master, let's go!" A-Mu rushed over, lifting the utterly weakened Cang Yaochen.
Jiang Li walked to the shattered incense altar. She kicked away the debris and grabbed the shimmering blue fragment of the "Pupil of the Past" from the Mirror of Seeking Mysteries.
The moment she touched the fragment, a massive surge of Turbid Qi rushed into her dantians. The red mark on her forehead throbbed violently as her sealed memories exploded.
She remembered everything. She remembered what had happened when Cang Yaochen pressed her down by the Spirit Spring, and she remembered how he had intimidated her at the temple when they first met.
Jiang Li closed her eyes, a single tear falling. So we have already shared such intimacy. I truly should hate you.
"Master, hurry!" A-Mu hoisted Cang Yaochen onto his back and ran toward the darkness.
Jiang Li opened her eyes and looked at the man on A-Mu's back. He was completely unconscious, his red robe soaked in blood, looking tragically wretched.